SPOTTED, dining with one-on-one Valerie Jarrett last night at the Blue Duck Tavern in Georgetown: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, celebrating five years and 7.5 million insured. Friends close to her say she feels excited, accomplished, and a little tired.

--TWEET DU JOUR -- @SenJohnMcCain: “Sylvia Burwell is an excellent choice to be the next #HHS Secretary”

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RUPERT MURDOCH, to FORTUNE’s Pattie Sellers, on the financial security of Fox News: “No cable company in the world is going to drop it unless they want their houses burned down. [ Laughter.]” http://goo.gl/VasnAo

PUNDIT PREP – Sam Geduldig, well-wired Republican lobbyist, in an “Easter Recess Memo” to clients of his firm, Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen: “PARTY SWITCHERS? Many Republicans are becoming increasingly optimistic that Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) may switch parties and caucus with Republicans if the balance of power flips (or if they can swing the majority).”

“OPEN MIKE”: Steve Case -- chairman and CEO of Revolution, co-founder of America Online, chairman of UP Global and chairman of The Case Foundation – tells us how his Ping-Pong strategy dovetails with his business philosophy. He demonstrates, with Seth London as the victim. #pressing … 3:32 videowww.politico.com/open-mike

THE FIGHT AHEAD – “Sebelius exit opens new Obamacare front,” by Edward-Isaac Dovere and Carrie Budoff Brown: “Democrats [hope HHS] Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s resignation — kept tightly under wraps since the one-on-one meeting in early March when she gave Obama the news — will finally force the president closer to the offensive, aggressive position on Obamacare that they’d been begging for. In the post-nuclear option Senate, as long as the White House can keep 51 Democrats on board, President Obama can count on OMB director Sylvia Mathews Burwell being confirmed to replace Sebelius. But Republicans will be counting on doing their damage … starting with the hearings. …

“Democrats say they like the contrast this sets up: Republicans want to keep fighting the same old battle over Obamacare, they’ll say, while Obama and his allies want to keep getting the system in shape … ‘It’s a helpful way to continue this discussion that Republicans want to have in Washington,’ said a senior administration official Thursday. ‘Do we want to go into that with somebody who bears the scars and bruises of the last five years, or do we want somebody who can start fresh, has the credentials and was confirmed by the Senate 96-0?’ …

“‘GOP can’t help themselves. they’re gonna turn this into a circus,’ a Democratic strategist emailed. ‘If we’re strong, we’ll be fine. If we use the hearings as an opportunity to turn the issue around on Republicans, we’re in good shape.’ … Obama and his staff [have] a plan for how to handle health care in the midterms: avoid talking about it as much as possible, and bank on the intensity of attention around the problems fading. … Expect to see plenty of events unfold like Wednesday night’s DCCC/DSCC fundraiser in Houston, when the president ticked through a laundry list of legislative priorities, but didn’t mention Obamacare in his public remarks — not even to brag about the enrollment milestone. …

“The good news for the White House is that they’ll be rid of a Cabinet secretary who was disappointing internally and externally … [But] the confirmation [will] open the administration to a new inquisition, records requests … Sebelius wasn’t Obama’s first choice (Tom Daschle was) … She wasn’t liberal health care advocates’ first choice (Howard Dean was.) She was … meant as a strong consensus choice: a former state insurance commissioner and a Democrat elected twice in a heartland Republican state.” http://goo.gl/brlE8B

--NYT’S MIKE SHEAR interviewed the Secretary on yesterday, and broke the story (beating AP’s Julie Pace by two minutes): “Ms. Sebelius said she hoped — but did not expect — that her departure would represent the beginning of a more cooperative period in Washington to make health care better. ‘If I could take something along with me,’ she said, it would be ‘all the animosity.’” http://goo.gl/mwlupf

D.C. SHOULD BEWARE COLBERT – Dylan Byers and Hadas Gold: Stephen “has built his career by lampooning, satirizing and often embarrassing both the political class and the media establishment … When politicians visit Letterman, Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel, they can expect a relatively friendly, tame interview … A segment with Colbert … can be a trial by fire. … Colbert has also had an unparalleled obsession with national politics outside the show, having run for president, launched a super PAC, co-hosted a political rally on the … Mall …

“[Mark McKinnon:] ‘He probably knows more about how PACs work than most of the people in Congress.’” http://goo.gl/E6lGOG

--JON STEWART, on last night’s show: “[T]he exciting news today is I no longer need a cable subscription for the privilege of watching Stephen Colbert.” http://goo.gl/RyBnEF

--COLBERT, on his show: “Dave has been on the air my entire adult life. ‘Late Night’ debuted my first year in college. I learned more from watching Dave than I did from going to my classes. … I gotta tell you, I do not envy whoever they try to put in that chair. Folks, those are some huge shoes to fill, and some really big pants.” http://goo.gl/r3u51X

--CRAIG FERGUSON ““Is Gonna Get Rich” – Gawker’s Sarah Hedgecock: “Ferguson's people reportedly put a clause in his contract stipulating that if some shady non-Ferguson character takes over the Late Show, Ferguson would get a consolation payout from CBS. The figures vary: the New York Post is reporting the payout as $5 million, while the New York Daily News puts it closer to $8 million or even $12 million.” http://goo.gl/8fMYkT

** A message from WellPoint: WellPoint Thinks improving access to care, strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and driving conversations about the future of America's health care system will help transform health care for all. To see what else we think is good for America's health care system, visit ThinkWellPoint.com. **

INVOLUNTARY TRANSITIONS -- Trey Grayson, director of the Harvard Institute of Politics: “I have decided to resign my position as the IOP’s Director effective as of June 30 … [W]ith one daughter finishing 8th grade and another finishing 5th grade, the time has come for me to find my next great opportunity.” http://goo.gl/7upKAX

--BEHIND THE CURTAIN: The reason Grayson, who wants to run for office in Kentucky again, was shown the door: failure to manage up to the board. It turns out board members, not the students, were his real constituency.

SPOTTED, not far from the stage at last night’s Miley Cyrus concert at the Verizon Center: the RNC’s Kirsten Kukowski and Sarah Isgur Flores.

HUGE JOB FOR LIZZIE O’LEARY -- American Public Media release: “‘Marketplace Weekend’ will be a one hour show [replacing the current ‘Marketplace Money’] and Lizzie O’Leary will be the new host. … We will be adding more technology coverage, a wrap-up and analysis of the week’s ‘Numbers,’ interesting interviews and maintaining the strong and distinctive approach to personal finance and investing … Since joining the Marketplace team last year, Lizzie [has been] routinely called on by MSNBC, CNN and other media outlets for appearances and has a strong and commanding social media presence, which will be instrumental in developing the show’s new online and digital strategy.” http://goo.gl/Ir61aV

NEWS YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE -- Google Glass release: “Become a Glass Explorer … [N]ext Tuesday, April 15th at 6am PDT, we’re opening up some spots in the Glass Explorer Program. Any adult in the US … can become an Explorer by visiting our site and purchasing Glass for $1500 + tax – and it now comes with your favorite shade or frame, thanks to feedback from our current Explorers. The number of spots available is limited, so mark your calendar if you want to get in.” http://goo.gl/YPZ5edThe form to sign uphttp://goo.gl/0S16jm

AIR WARS – First ad: “Scott Brown has almost 300,000 miles on this truck.” YouTubehttp://goo.gl/4OG9pV

NETWORK NEWS: ABC’s Diane Sawyer: “Tonight: Daring rescue, and an elite FBI team races in to save a life of a hostage. Why did they take the big chances? What was at stake?” … NBC’s Brian Williams: “Moment of crisis: New revelations about what happened inside that school. The search for a motive with a knife attack on fellow students . And, tonight: The emotional reunion for a pair of best friends who helped save each other.” … CBS’s Scott Pelley: “Same cars, new dangerous defects: GM has to fix yet another problem with millions of recalled vehicles, and two engineers have been suspended.”

“60 MINUTES” LISTINGS: “FRANCIS – The pope’s closest friends, including a rabbi he’s known for years in his native Argentina, describe a pontiff who is surprising the world by spurning tradition to bring humility and humanity to the papacy. Scott Pelley reports. Nicole Young is the producer. THIS IS A DOUBLE-LENGTH SEGMENT … HOMETOWN FAVORITE – Boston area-native Shalane Flanagan took the bombings at last year’s Boston Marathon personally, giving the top-flight long distance runner even more motivation to win the race this year. Anderson Cooper reports. Coleman Cowan is the producer.”

MEDIAWATCH – Ben Sherwood announces James Goldston, his current #2, as his successor as president of ABC News: “James joined ABC News in 2004 after leading Britain's most watched current affairs program, ‘Tonight with Trevor McDonald.’ … While James began his ABC career as a Senior Producer of primetime specials and investigations, he was swiftly promoted to Executive Producer of ‘Nightline.’ At the time, many believed the broadcast had seen its best days … Winning multiple Emmys, Murrows, and a duPont for the program’s coverage of Afghanistan, James helped re-imagine and re-invigorate ‘Nightline.’ … [T]he broadcast moved from third to perpetual first in Late Night.

“In March 2011, I asked James to take the helm at ‘Good Morning America.’ Alongside Tom Cibrowski, he led the program on a dynamic new track. … GMA will soon celebrate two straight years as America’s #1 morning program. In 2012, I again asked James to take on a new role as Senior Vice President responsible for content and development across the entire division. … Though my family and I will move to Los Angeles this summer, I want to make clear that I will always feel a part of ABC News. … And, yes, I will still call the news desk at 3 am! …

“Just 82 years after his grandfather set foot in this country, he and his family are writing another American story. James and his wife Laura are raising their three boys in Brooklyn. Youngest son, Ben, was born in New York City and his older brothers Isaac and Toby, along with their parents, look forward to becoming citizens in the coming years.”

MAKING NEWS TOMORROW – AP release: “The funeral of Associated Press photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus will take place on Saturday … at Corvey Abbey, a Benedictine monastery near her birthplace in Hoexter, Germany. Niedringhaus was killed by an Afghan policeman in an attack on April 4, which seriously wounded veteran AP correspondent Kathy Gannon. Gannon is undergoing treatment at Krankenhaus Nordwest, a medical facility in Frankfurt, Germany, and remains in stable condition.” http://goo.gl/DYxAdF

BIRTHDAYS: Ethel Kennedy is 86 … Erika Masonhall of NBC News … Ed Skyler, Citi's executive vice president for Global Public Affairs, will celebrate with his girls, who are taking him away for a big golf outing when he’s free -- he has to work this weekend. On Sunday, Tony Maciulis (“Mr. Tony”) will meet Amelia for the first time. Aunt Megan is also coming by (hat tip: Jen and Amelia) … American Banker's Donna Borak (hat tip: Patrick Gavin) ... Michele Ballantyne, RIAA's E.V.P. for Public Policy and Industry Relations ... Missi Tessier, principal at the Podesta Group ... Marcia Hale, president, Building America’s Future (h/t Jon Haber) … Chris Gates, Broncos fan and former head of the Colorado Democratic Party, now E.D. for Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), in D.C. (h/t Mallory McLean) … Ellen Goodman is 73 (h/ts AP)

** A message from WellPoint: WellPoint Thinks strengthening America's health care system - and helping control costs - starts with improving access to care through technology, strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and enabling the next generation of physicians to drive conversations about the future of health care. Through telehealth efforts, like LiveHealth Online, consumers have an affordable and convenient way to connect with primary care doctors via live video.

Our Enhanced Personal Health Care program strengthens the doctor-patient relationship, with more than 41,000 physicians and 8 million patients participating in the program to date. And for the next generation, our American Resident Project brings together medical students, residents and young physicians to drive new conversations about the system's future. To see what else we think is good for America's health care system, visit ThinkWellPoint.com. **

****** A message from UnitedHealth Group: What does it take to create a modern, high-performing, simpler health care system? Expanding access to care through proven state-based coverage and employer-sponsored insurance. Making health care more affordable with consumer-directed care and value-based payments. Supporting and modernizing Medicare to meet the complex health challenges of America’s seniors. And reinvesting in health to support research and innovation. Learn more about these ideas at http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com ******

Authors:

About The Author

Mike Allen is the chief White House correspondent for POLITICO. He comes to us from Time magazine where he was their White House correspondent. Prior to that, Allen spent six years at The Washington Post, where he covered President Bush's first term, Capitol Hill, campaign finance, and the Bush, Gore and Bradley campaigns of 2000. Before turning to national politics, he covered schools and local governments in rural counties outside Fredericksburg, Va., for The Free Lance-Star, then wrote about Doug Wilder, Oliver North, Chuck Robb and the Bobbitts for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he nurtured police sources on overnight ride-alongs through housing projects. Allen also covered Mayor Giuliani, the Connecticut statehouse and the wacky rich of Greenwich for The New York Times. Before moving to The Times, he did stints in the Richmond and Alexandria bureaus of The Washington Post. Allen grew up in Orange County, Calif., and has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University, where he majored in politics and journalism.